The Week to Week News Quiz for January 15, 2019

Here are some random but real hints: He said he would; vital signs; it did so in 2001 as well; and the Easter Bunny would be proud. Answers are below the quiz.

1. What did Trump say he would do if Turkey attacked the United States' Kurdish allies in northern Syria?
A. Send them $100 million
B. Send them 100,000 troops
C. "devastate Turkey economically"
D. Send Jared Kushner to straighten it all out

2. According to a series of new polls, whom do Americans blame for the government shutdown?
A. Nancy Pelosi
B. Democrats
C. The European Union
D. President Trump

3. For the first time ever, Americans are more likely to die from what instead of in an automobile accident?
A. Opioid overdose
B. Old age
C. Mass shooting
D. Airplane accident

4. What did William Barr, President Trump's attorney general nominee, say about Robert Mueller's Russia investigation?
A. It is "vitally important" that the special counsel be allowed to complete his investigation
B. Funding for the investigation should freeze during the government shutdown
C. Robert Mueller "should cede control to someone more experienced"
D. The investigation was a "total hoax" that was "long overdue to be ended"

5. More than 30,000 teachers went on strike in what major U.S. city?
A. Chicago
B. Indianapolis
C. Milwaukee
D. Los Angeles

6. What big corporate news takes effect on January 29?
A. PG&E said it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on that date
B. Amazon's value will cross the $2 trillion threshold
C. Gannett will complete its merger with Disney
D. We will all work for Walmart

7. The president reacted with anger to reports that he had done what after his face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hamburg?
A. Ordered the Pentagon to draw up a plan to attack Russia
B. Confiscated his interpreter's notes and forbade her to tell anyone about it
C. Texted Putin with the U.S. nuclear codes
D. Retired to his hotel room for a late dinner of borscht and vodka

8. What did Iowa GOP Representative Steve King say that has made him the target of harsh criticism from Democrats and fellow Republicans alike?
A. "What does this diversity bring that we don’t already have?” King said in the interview with the site. “Mexican food, Chinese food, those things — well, that’s fine. But what does it bring that we don’t have that is worth the price?"
B. "White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive? Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?"
C. "I would give you even money that a vast majority of mothers who say they can’t afford an abortion have an iPhone, which costs more.”
D. "Culture and demographics are our destiny. . . . We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies."

9. After earning 27 million "likes," what is the new most-liked post on Instagram?
A. Ellen DeGeneres dancing with Kevin Hart
B. A gif of Donald Trump golfing
C. A photo of an egg
D. A photo of Rep. Steve King dressed as a Star Wars stormtrooper

10. What plan did the mayor of Rome announce and then quickly deny?
A. To house immigrants in the Colosseum
B. To re-carve all of the original Latin lettering on Roman ruins to modern Italian
C. To stop giving the coins tossed into the Trevi fountain to a Catholic charity and instead keep it for the city
D. To ban all cars from the city center

BONUS. How many Hindus are expected to converge on the Indian city of Prayagraj in the next few weeks for the Kumbh Mela festival?
A. 800,000
B. 1 million
C. 22 million
D. 120 million

ANSWERS
1. C
2. D
3. A
4. A
5. D
6. A
7. B
8. B (the other quotes are also by Steve King, but they did not lead to widespread calls for his censure or resignation)
9. C
10. C
BONUS. D

Explanations of the hints: He said he would: Trump had said that he would take responsibility for the shutdown, and voters agreed; vital signs: he said it was vitally important for Mueller to complete his task; it did so in 2001 as well: PG&E declared bankruptcy in 2001, too; and the Easter Bunny would be proud: egg-lovers rejoice

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